Foster Griffin's Arsenal Change Has Allowed Him to Be Effective for Nationals
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Foster Griffin is scheduled to start for the Washington Nationals on Saturday with a chance to deliver his team a much-needed series win.
This comes after the Nationals took the opener against the Milwaukee Brewers following an impressive offensive display late in the game after the pitching staff largely performed well coming off what was a disastrous week. And with Griffin on the mound, there's a chance Washington can earn their first series victory since they took two out of three against the Chicago Cubs.
That's because the left-hander has been great in his return to Major League Baseball thus far. Through two starts, Griffin has posted a 2.70 ERA with 11 strikeouts and three walks across 10 innings pitched. And much of that success can be attributed to changes he made to his arsenal.
Changes Foster Griffin Has Made
Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) dove into some pitchers across Major League Baseball who have made changes to their arsenal, and he highlighted four massive improvements Griffin made.
-Added a sweeper with plus sweep
-Added a splitter with plus drop
-Added a sinker with above-average horizontal break
-Added two inches of horizontal break to his curveball
The addition of two plus pitches and the improvement of two others is huge for any pitcher, but especially for one who last appeared in the majors four years ago. Griffin was an intriguing free agent this offseason because of what he did overseas, and so far, the Nationals are benefiting from taking a chance on the left-hander.
Wide-Ranging Arsenal of Pitches
Griffin doesn't have an overwhelming fastball when it comes to velocity. So he has to be crafty with multiple pitches to get major league hitters out at a high rate. His time spent in Japan allowed him to add more to his arsenal, and according to Sarris, the additions of a plus sweeper, sinker and splitter are driving his success.
"Griffin went to Japan and came back with one of the widest arsenals in the sport. Despite only averaging 92 mph on the fastball at a time when even the average lefty starter has two more ticks, he rates as having above-average stuff because his cutter has plus sideways movement and keeps righties off the plate. The splitter and sweeper he came back with are good out-pitches now, but the changeup gets the best results ...," he wrote.
Washington was anticipating they would get good production from the 30-year-old, but they likely are surprised by how effective he's been. Because not only has he been impressive on paper during his two starts, but he did so when facing the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers lineups.
The Nationals will be hoping Griffin can keep this up for the rest of the season. And a third consecutive good outing against the Brewers on Saturday would be a great sign that his strong start will continue.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai